Jesse McCartney Returns After 4-Year Hiatus

After nearly a four-year hiatus, Jesse McCartney is back with a new EP and a whole new sound.

Jesse came by our studio after his EP, In Technicolor Part 1, dropped to talk about his return to the music scene, which he says fans have been very patiently waiting for.

"I was able to sort of step back over the last few years and step out of the limelight for a second," McCartney said. "[I] just needed to live a little bit and kind of take some time off and come up with some new material to write about."

The new music is infused with sounds of the '60s and '70s that Jesse says he grew up listening to.

"I wanted to make an album this time around that sort of reflected what I grew up listening to as a child and a lot of that is what my parents listened to," said McCartney. "Everything from the Bee Gees to Earth Wind and Fire to Michael [Jackson]."

This is the first time the Beautiful Soul singer is releasing an EP, not to mention he is doing it all on his own through his independent label Eight0eight Records.

"I was with a label for 10 years and it was amazing, but I feel like I kind of know what I'm doing now on the full spectrum of things," said McCartney. "Not just creatively but now business-wise, too."

With the contagious track Back Together and the soulful marriage-themed Tie the Knot, fans are going to see a new side to the singer-songwriter, who says this EP is his "proudest music achievement to date."

Jesse's new album is set for release next year, but in the meantime you can catch a preview of what's to come on In Technicolor Part I, available on iTunes now.

Watch more of Jesse's interview and hear about his thoughts on marriage and how he accidentally stumbled on the single Back Together thanks to the pop band Hot Chelle Rae.